Brancott « CorkPopper

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Brancott’

Week 3: The Results Are In!

20 Sep

Though, once again this week’s wines were all solid, there was definitely a clear winner (from my perspective at least).

First, Brancott’s 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir, which was rated 91 points by Wine & Spirits and is available on wine.com for $19.99/bottle. I tasted the Brancott first with a mid-week dinner of penne pasta with Italian sausage, sauteed onions, roasted red peppers, basil pesto and goat cheese. The wine was decent with fairly characteristic red fruit on the nose and palate but was fairly unremarkable and wasn’t able to really stand up to the strong flavors of my pasta. I tend to like my Pinot Noir to have a bit more black pepper and spice.

2.5 corks popped…

Second, Saint Clair’s 2007 Pinot Noir, which garnered 88 points from Wine Spectator and 89 points from Wine & Spirits. This is available from wine.com for $16.99/bottle. J and I drank this while I prepared a delicious pizza inspired by one I had in Capri while living in Italy. It’s a white pizza (meaning you use bechamel sauce instead of tomato sauce) with spicy Italian sausage, onions, pepperoncini (those greenish-yellowish pepper you can get in a jar, usually on the grocery store aisle with the olives), red pepper and fresh mozzarella. This pizza is seriously to die for. And the Saint Clair actually stood up to it very well. With more spice than the Brancott and a significantly longer finish and more well-rounded mouthfeel, J and I both loved pretty much everything about this wine.

3.5 corks popped!!

Finally, 2007 Pencarrow Pinot Noir, which was rated 90 points on wineexchange.com and is available for $15.99/bottle. When we first poured this wine, I got a REALLY strong aroma of rubber, sort of like the eraser on the end of a #2 pencil. This, naturally, turned J and me off a bit. That said, we allowed it to breathe for a while, and the smell (and the accompanying flavor) of rubber definitely diminished. I also gave it a second shot today as I wrote this. I used one of those aerator things that you stick into the top of the bottle, and, thought it did help, it’s still not as good as the Saint Clair. In short, though the Pencarrow turned out to be fairly enjoyable, I don’t know that I’d every actually recommend this one just because of the rubber smell/flavor issue up front.

1.5 corks popped…

So, what are we cooking to pair with the Saint Clair (this week’s clear winner)? We’re grilling a rack of lamb (Trader Joe’s has really affordable and delicious rack of lamb) that we’re rubbing with olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg. We’ll be accompanying it with a basic baby arugula salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and some grilled bread. Easy and sure to be delicious….

Cheers!!

Check out the CorkPopper Calendar to see where I’ve been and where I’m headed.

UPDATE: Check out how the rack of lamb turned out… yummmmmmm……

No Comments

Posted in 1.5 Corks Popped, 2.5 corks popped, 3.5 corks popped, Brancott, New Zealand, Pencarrow, Pinot Noir, Saint Clair Vicar's Choice

Week 3: New Zealand Pinot Noir

14 Sep

Here it is… the Week 3 lineup… I haven’t had the pleasure of trying any of these three, so I’m definitely looking forward to this week.

You may recognize two of this week’s wineries – Brancott and Saint Clair – from the past couple of weeks when I reviewed their Sauvignon Blancs. Both wineries also had top-rated Pinot Noir, so I thought it could be fun to see how they do with this finicky red grape…

First, Brancott’s 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir, which was rated 91 points by Wine & Spirits and is available on wine.com for $19.99/bottle.

Second, Saint Clair’s 2007 Pinot Noir, which garnered 88 points from Wine Spectator and 89 points from Wine & Spirits. This is available from wine.com for $16.99/bottle.

Finally, 2007 Pencarrow Pinot Noir, which was rated 90 points on wineexchange.com and is available for $15.99/bottle.

Looking forward to it!

Cheers!!

Check out the CorkPopper calendar here to see where I’ve been and where I’m going…

No Comments

Posted in Brancott, New Zealand, Pencarrow, Pinot Noir, Saint Clair Vicar's Choice

Week 2: The Results Are In!

10 Sep

Given that all three of this week’s wines come from the same region and were produced in the same year, I thought it would be much harder to pick a clear favorite than it was last week. Not so. While all three wines were generally tasty, especially on warm evenings such as we’ve been having here in LA lately, one wine was clearly better than the other two. Which one, you ask? Well, let me tell you a little about each of them before I get there!

First, (and these are in no particular order) is the Brancott Reserve, which J and I drank as we both got a little work done on Monday afternoon after getting back from Kauai (you know, cleaning out the email inbox after a vacation and creating a to-do list with all the stuff that has piled up on you while you were away). The wine was definitely solid but lacked any really remarkable characteristics. It’s got a lot of citrus, as one would expect, with a nice, light aroma, as one would expect. In fact, come to think of it, this wine is exactly that – what you expect. Not that being predictable is necessarily a bad thing when it comes to wine. Sometimes you don’t feel like being adventurous and just want a solid New Zealand Sauv Blanc. Well, here you go. And at $12.99, it won’t break the bank, either.

3 corks popped…

Next, is the Kim Crawford, which I actually had on my own because I already knew J wasn’t a fan. Both the aroma and initial taste of this wine contain a bit of green bell pepper, which J despises. Although this isn’t a “bad” wine, there are definitely better ones out there, especially at $18.79/bottle. I swear I remember when Kim Crawford was around $12/bottle…. crazy.

1.5 corks popped…

Finally, the Craggy Range…. While I know that $17.99/bottle doesn’t seem like much of a bargain, J and I both agreed that this wine was not only the best wine of the week, but probably the best of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs we’ve tried during the past two weeks. It’s really well balanced, with plenty of floral (though not sweet) notes to stand up to the acidity that so often dominates New Zealand Sauv Blancs. The finish was also great; the fruit seemed to linger on the taste buds forever.

4 corks popped!!

The meal J and I drank the Craggy Range with was a bit random but absolutely delicious (and remarkably good with the wine). As we walked through the grocery store trying to figure out what we wanted to eat, we saw artichokes, sweet white corn on the cob, and lobster tails, so we decided to grill all of it (along with some bread, of course). Not the most congruent meal, but man was it tasty! The warm juiciness of the lobster was absolutely perfect with the cool citrus and honeydew flavors in the wine, and I honestly can’t think of anything I’d rather have with this wine on Sunday when we drink the other bottle (though I’ll probably try given that each of our 5 oz. lobster tails cost $11.99… not exactly a budget item, I know, but sometimes it’s worth it to splurge).

Grilled lobster was remarkably easy to prepare. We just rubbed the tails with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt and some fresh ground pepper before wrapping them up in aluminum foil and putting them on the grill at medium-high heat. They only take a few minutes, so be sure to keep your eye on them. Once the shell turns bright red and the meat looks white (rather than slightly translucent), it’s done. Lobster gets tough when it’s overdone, which is never good (especially given that lobster isn’t exactly cheap), so err on the side of undercooking it. You can always throw it back on the barbie for a minute. Once it’s cooked, just cut the underside of the tail with some kitchen scissors and pull out that delicious meat. Serve with drawn butter.
If we come up with an even more perfect meal for the Craggy Range than this, I’ll definitely let you know….

Cheers!!

To see where I’ve been and where I’m going next, check out the CorkPopper calendar here.

No Comments

Posted in 1.5 Corks Popped, 3 corks popped, 4 Corks Popped, Brancott, Craggy Range, Kim Crawford, New Zealand, sauvignon blanc

Week 2: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

08 Sep

No, it’s not a typo. I’m doing two weeks of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs (there are just too many good ones available at such great prices right now!). Plus, it’s still warm out, and there’s nothing better than a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc on a warm evening… you know I’m right…

Anyhoo, the three contenders for the week are:

1) 2008 Craggy Range. This was $17.99 from wine.com and was rated 93 points by Wine & Spirits.

2) 2008 Kim Crawford. It was given 91 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast (and it’s one of LF’s (formerly LT) favorites). It’s $18.79 from wine.com.